Page 6 of Coal (QUEENS WRAITHS MC #2)

A growl rumbles from the man next to me, and he pins me with a dark gaze before eyeing my brothers, coldly saying, “She’s off-limits to you. ”

Sean chuckles at his nephew’s words and gets the same glare we did, but he doesn’t seem perturbed about it at all.

Not wanting to rock any boats with our allies’ family, I nod and reply, “Got it, brother, the lady’s off limits. You don’t have to worry about us, though we’d never hurt a woman.”

He stares blankly at me, and I’m wondering what he’s thinking when a small voice pipes up excitedly, shouting, “Butch, Butch, you back,” and a tiny dynamo comes barrelling down the road towards us.

Immediately, Brass and Iron stand in the road, ready to stop any cars with their bodies if they have to.

Butcher moves and moves fast, hurrying forward and scooping up the tiny tot.

The woman over the road shouts out in a frustrated voice, “Mikayla Jane, what have I told you about running away from me?” She then proceeds to stomp over to us after her runaway child, who is looking very comfortable and not at all worried, sitting on the arm of the very large, angry-looking man.

Brass and Iron stand down. He gives them a chin lift before turning his attention to the little girl.

And all he says is one word, “Mikayla.” I know it’s the disappointment in his tone that has her little mouth turning down and bowing her head to rest against his forehead, “I sowwy Butch, but I missed you.”

If I’d wondered if Butcher had any softness in him, it came through loud and clear when he tells Mikayla, “You say sorry to your mam and promise me you won’t do that again. It’s dangerous, baby, and my heart will hurt if something happens to you, okay? Do you understand?”

She lifts her head and nods, cupping his face. She says with a cute fucking lisp, “I pwomise.”

It’s cute as fuck, and I can see my brothers struggling not to laugh. Sean is biting his lip, watching his scary nephew all but melt in the face of the tiny ball of sunshine. Her mother reaches us, fire in her eyes as she looks at her mini-me and crosses her arms.

Butcher’s eyes flick towards the pissed-off woman before he turns his attention back to her little girl, “And what do you say to your mam?”

The tiny tot turns big eyes to her mother, who instantly softens her stance when her little one says, “I sowwy, Mammy.”

She sighs and reaches for her daughter, who shakes her head. “I stay Butch.”

“Fine,” her mother throws her hands up in the air and turns to us, holding out her hand first to me when she notices my patch, “Hi, I’m Moira. I live over the road next to Butcher.”

“Nice to meet you,” I reply, giving her hand a quick shake, very aware of the large glaring man watching us like a hawk.

“I own the bakery that you passed when you rode through this part of the city. Pop in tomorrow, and I’ll have some pastries put aside.” Turning back to Butcher and Mikayla, she tells her daughter, “Come on, young lady, it’s bath and bed for you.”

“Kay, bye,” she turns and presses a wet kiss to Butcher’s cheek before allowing her mother to take her.

We watch until they disappear into the house over the road before cracking up. Even Butcher’s lips are tilted up at the edges.

“How do you ever say no to that?” Copper wants to know.

Butcher shrugs, and his eyes have lost their hard look. “I don’t, which is why she gets away with murder with me. ”

Sean laughs and slaps his nephew's shoulder, “I have to go, lad. Are you good here?”

Butcher nods, assuring his uncle, “All good, Uncle Sean.”

Sean turns back to me. “I’ll see you lads tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Sean,” I reply. We wait until he disappears down the road, then move to our sleds and grab our gear. Turning towards Butcher, I tell him, “Appreciate you letting us stay here. Happy to reciprocate if you’re ever near us.”

“Thanks,” Butcher nods. “Good luck with Kelly. Watch your backs. He’s not a good man. Very wealthy and very powerful, but bad to the bone. You have my number. Call me if you need anything.”

Taking his warning and his offer at face value, I say, “Thanks, and we will if we need to. Don’t want to drag you into anything if we can help it. Especially as you seem to have responsibilities living next door to you that could be used against you.”

Butcher nods. “Okay, have a good night.” On those words, he leaves us and jogs over the road towards his house, his dog following along behind him before they both disappear into it as silently as he arrived.

“Interesting character,” Copper comments, walking past me towards the house we’ll be staying in.

“Very,” I agree, following him.

“Deadly,” Brass comments from behind us. “Yep,” Iron agrees. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s been in the military.”

“Not all wars are fought in the military,” Bolt remarks, surprising me with his insight.

“Very true, brother,” Blue agrees quietly. “Some are fought from the time you take your first breath.”

His comment makes me wonder about his history.

For the most part, I didn’t pry into the new brothers’ lives.

I knew the Cursed Skulls wouldn’t have sent me prospects that couldn’t be trusted.

Blue wasn’t wrong, though; we’d seen it time and again.

Recently it was brought home to us again, knowing one of our own had suffered.

Chains’ son had lived it until Maestro had found him and brought him home.

It made me grateful for the parents I’d been born to and the childhood my brothers and my sister had had .

Butcher had more than stocked the house with just basics.

After a quick bite to eat, we found our beds.

We were getting up at three in the morning so that we could get to the Kelly property early and set up while most were still asleep to do our recon.

We weren’t due to meet him until tomorrow mid-morning.

***

Not wanting to wake up our neighbours, I have my brothers push their sleds to the end of the road before we start them up.

It was a great time to ride with hardly any traffic; we make good time.

About a mile from the Kelly property, we pull over.

Sterling had given us coordinates for somewhere to hide our sleds.

Iron gets off his sled and searches up and down the side of the road, looking for the track we need.

Sterling had told us it was hidden. He must find it because he jogs back to us, “Found it, Pres.”

“We’ll follow you,” I tell him. We don’t waste time and soon are hidden amongst a dense copse of trees. Behind us, Brass and Bolt are using a branch to wipe away our tracks. It won’t fool anyone who knows much about tracking, but it will do for what we need.

“We need to take turns staying with the sleds. All except for Blue.” Turning to Blue, I see he’s quickly and efficiently putting his rifle together and is nearly done. “Do you know where you’re going?” I ask him.

“I do, Pres,” he confirms. “Sterling and I checked on the images he could find. I’ve got my phone, but it’s on silent. We need to discuss a better way of staying in touch on assignments.”

“We will,” I assure him. “Do you need a spotter?”

“Nah, not for this,” he confirms.

“Okay, head on out. Let me know when you’re set up.”

“Will do, Pres.”

We wait for him to disappear silently towards where we’re meant to meet. It’s not at the main house, that much I know. Instead, Kelly has us meeting at a barn-like structure further back on his property.

Turning to our other ex-military brothers, “Iron, Brass, you take the lead, and we’ll follow.”

“Pres,” they agree and set out. It’s immediately noticeable the difference between them and us. As quiet as we were trying to be, we still made noise, while they seemed to glide smoothly along the same terrain.

I make a mental note for my brothers and myself to get more training hours in. We’d need it to be able to work smoothly as part of a team.

Brass holds up a hand, showing that he wants us to stop, then he and Iron have an entire conversation with each other using only hand signals.

Copper, Nickel, Bolt, and I share a look.

I think it’s just hit them how out of our depth we are.

We’re good with going in like battering rams and handing out a beating, but we’ve never had to do the stealth thing, not with the number of brothers we had at our backs in the US.

This was a whole new kettle of fish, though.

Iron and Brass finish their conversation, and Brass turns towards us, mouthing, “Stay here.”

I nod and give him a thumbs up. We understand, and we’ll wait.

They melt away, leaving us to wait. They’re not gone long, maybe ten minutes or so, when they stealthily reappear again.

Brass comes in close to us, leaving Iron keeping watch near the tree line.

“We’ve found somewhere to hole up for a few hours,” he whispers. “It won’t be comfortable, but you’ll have a good view of everything. Iron and I are going to check out the big house, and then we’ll make our way back to you. ”

Bowing to their experience, I nod my agreement, and we follow them to a massive barn-like structure that looks like it’s never been used until you see the chains and hooks hanging from the ceiling and the dark splashes on the floor.

When we see this, we’re left in no doubt as to what type of man we’re dealing with.

Brass points towards a rickety ladder and the loft.

He murmurs, “There're slits cut into the walls for you to watch out of up there. Nobody should be able to see you as long as you don’t get too close to them, but you’ll be able to see for miles.

Try to keep talking to a minimum because sound carries when it’s so quiet.

Iron and I’ll be back in about an hour or so, could be longer, depending on what we see. ”

“Be careful,” I warn him.